Dust-collector for rock-drills.



G. S. WAHLSTROM.

DUST COLLECTOR FOR ROCK DRILLS.

APPLICATION FILED we. 29, 1910.

1,003,075. 4 Patented Sept. 12,1911.

, 2 BKEBTB-SKBBT 1.

- '0. s. WAHLSTROM. DUST COLLECTOR FOB. ROCK DBILLS. v

' APPLICATION FILED AUG.29, 1910.

Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

-I! SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED s rntrns PATENT OFFICE.-

, CHARLES SOLOMON WAHLSTROM, or .WAILSTREET, ooLoRAno, nssrenon or ONE- into the conduit.

FOURTH TO GUSTAF THEOD BOTH OF- DENVER, COLORADO.

.ORE JOHNSON AND oNE FoURTl-l-m EDWARD STENSON,

-DUST COLLECTOR FOR ROCK-DRILLS.

S pec'nfi ation of Letters Patent. Patented Sept, 12, 1911;

e I Application filed. August 29, 1910. Serial'No. 579,528.

To all whom it m-(Ly concern! Be it known that I, CHARLES SoLoMON WAHLSTROM, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Wallstreet, county of Boulder, and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dust- Collectors for Rock-Drills; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in dust collectors for rock drills.

During the regular drilling. operation the material which-is removed from the hole formed in the rock by the drill bit or tool,-

is formed into dust and if no provision is made for collecting and confining this dust, it fills the atmosphere in the vicinity of the breast of the rock where the .drilling op eration is carried on, to such an extent that it becomes almost unbearable for the workmen in charge of the machine. This dust also makes the handling of a drill very unhealthful work, so much so in fact that a person can endure it for a comparatively short time only.

The object of my improved construction is to overcome this difficulty and to practically collect all of the rock cuttings as they leave the drill hole, and deliver them to a conduit whence they may be carried or directed to a suitable location.

My improved construction consists of a funnel-shaped, flexible hood adapted to engage the breast of the rock surrounding the drill hole during the drilling operation, the arrangement being such that the rock cuttings all enter this hood with which a discharge conduit is connected in such a man ner that the cuttings pass from the hood The hood is attached to the drill bit by means of a clamp surrounding a rubber bushing whose interior is the counterpart of the exterior of the drill bit, the ,bushing having grooves to fit the ribs of the bit, and ribs to enter the grooves of the latter whereby a dust-tight joint is formed between the bushing and the bit,

I passing through the hood. This bushing is mounted to rotate in the clamp, since the drill bit must rotate in order to properly performits function. The rotary action of the drill bit may be either a rotary oscillating or a continuous rotary movement depending upon the style of drill mechanism employed. In either event the bushing directly engaging the drill bit and fitting within the clamp, may move freely with the bit. This clamp is connected with an arm which telescopes in a sleeve mounted upon a column, one extremity of which engages the roof or top wall of the tunnel, while the other extremity engages the bottom or floor of the same. This column has a rocking fork at its u per extremity whereby it is adapted to ad ust itself to the surface of the rock whether the same is horizontal or more or less inclined. In. other words, the unevenness'of the rock surface presents no obstacle to the location of the supporting column upon which the dust collector is mounted. This column is composed of a sleeve and two members telescoping therein, the upper member carrying the fork and being secured to the sleeve in any desired posit-ion of adjustment; while the lower member telescopes freely in the sleeve and is provided with a stop near its lower extremity which engages one end of a coil spring surrounding the said member, the- In other umn in position, the operator pushes down upon the forked end causing the lower member tomove upwardly into the sleeve in which ittelescopes. Then by releasing the downward pressure, the recoil of the spring will force the forked upper end of the column against the roof of the tunnel, whereby the column is held securely in place. 4

Having briefiy outlined my improved construction, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanyin drawing in which is illustrated an em odiment thereof.

In this drawing: Figure l is a section taken through a tunnel or drift-in the rock showing the rock drill in place and my improved dust collector connected in operative relation therewith. Fig. 2 is a view of the column partly in section and on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a detail view showlng the hood member of the dust collector and the parts directly connected -therewith, on a larger scale than in Fig; 1. 'Fig. 4 1s a sectional'view taken through the drill bit shown partly broken away. This is a secclamp of the dust collector, the hood being tion taken on the line 44 Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a detail view of the rotatable hinged sleeve.

' The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

- Let the numeral 5 designate a hood which This hood is funnel-shaped and is ada tedto. be opened on one side where the two e es of the. hood overlap as shown at 6. After eing applied to the drill bit 7, the opening at the side of the hood may be closed by the use of suitable devices 8. separable glove buttons will answer every purpose. The smaller extremity of this hood is secured to a clamp 9 by means of a ring 10 and screws 12. The fabric of the hood is interposed between the members 13 and 14 of the clamp and the ring 10, the screws being threaded through the ring and the clamp members. The two clamp members 13 and 14' are 'hinged together as shown at 15. The opposite extremity of the member 13 merges into a laterally projecting arm 16 which terminates at its extremity remote from the clamp in a clutch member 17 cotiperating with a similar clutch member 18, the two clutch members being connected by a bolt 19. The faces of'these clutch members are serrated or tootlied as shown at 20 and when they are connected in operative relation, the teeth intermesh in such a manner as to prevent any movement of their serrated faces upon each other. However, by loosening the bolt these faces may be moved to give the arms.16 any desired angle with the horizontal. The clamp member 14 terminates at. its extremity remote from the hinge in a projection '21 curved at its outer end as shown at 22 to form a sort of cam which when the clamp members are held together in their clamping relation passes through an opening 23 formed in a locking hasp 24,

"hinged to the arm 16 as shown'at 25.

. Located within the clamp 9 and directly engaging the outer surfaceof'the drill bit 7 when the device is in use, is a bushing 26 composed of rubber or other suitable maclamp members 13 an te rial. This bushing is bored out to fit the 'drill bit 7. the exterior surface of the latter being composed of alternate ribs and grooves in the well known manner. The portion-of the bushing 26 ad'acent the hood constitutes a head 27 throug which screws 28 are passed and threaded into a sleeve 29 which is composed of two members 30 hinged together asshown at 31 to harmonize withthe hinge 15 of the clamp 9. This hinged sleeve 29 is sup orted between the 14 by means of screws 61. The rubber bushing 26 is divided as indicated at '32, in line with the division between the sleeve members 30 and the clamp members 13 and 14, so that when. it is desired to apply the hood to the drill, the inner clamping structure may be opened on one side to receive the drill bit. By virtue of this construction the device may be applied to the drill bit when the cutting extremity of the latter is close against. the rock or concealed within the drill hole.

It is evident that I am not limited to the T specific construction of clamp and bushing disclosed in the drawing and heretofore described, though'it is necessary that the member of the clamping mechanism in direct engagement with the drill steel should form a tight joint therewith and also be so carried as to rotate either continuously or back and forth with the drill steel, as may be desired. It is also evident that the clamp 9 must be relatively stationary. Hence both members of this clamp are slotted as shown at 33, the slot extending entirely around the curved members 13 and 14 and extending into the members 16 and 21 as shown at 34, in order to allow the screws 61 which are connected with the sleeve members 30 and protrude therefrom, to move freely in the slot formed in the members of the clamp.

9, during the rotary action of the drill bit. These screws 61 are simply threaded into the sleeve members 30 and constitute retaining guides for .the bushing through which the drill steel passes, whereby the hood and bushing are retained securely in place when the dust collector is in use.

Communicating with the hood through an opening on one side thereof is-a conduit member 35 which terminates in a serrated nipple 36 ada ted to be connected with a hose pipe 37 or carrying oil the dust or rock cuttings which enter the hood during the drilling operation.

Rigidly connected with the clutch member 18 is a rod 38 which telescopes into a sleeve 39, the said rod being held in the desired position of adjustment by a set screw 40. The sleeve 39 is threaded into a fitting 41 which is longitudinally adjustable upon a rod 42 extending at right angles to the sleeve 39, the fitting 41 being held in the desired position-of adjustment .upon the rod lutely necessary that this should be the case,

42 by means of a set screw 43 threaded in the fitting and equipped at its outerexwith an opening 49 through which passes a rod 50, the inner extremityof the rod being formed into a piston 51' fitting closely within the opening 52 of the hollow bar 45. The rod.50 protrudes below the hollow bar, its lower extremity being pointed as shown at 53 to facilitate its engagement with the V rock floor of the tunnel or drift. Above the lower extremity of this rod is located a stop collar 54 which is engaged by one extremity of a coil spring 55 whose upper extremity engages the cap 48 of the hollowbar.

Upon the upper extremity of the rod 42 above the fitting '41 is a crescent-shaped member 56 pivotally connected with the rod as shown at 57, whereby the said member is adapted to rock so that its points or horns 58 may engage the rock wall at the top or roof of the tunnel, the said device automatically adapting itself to the surface whether the same is horizontal or irregular. Attention is called to the fact that the members 42, and constitute a column for supporting the dust collector in operative relation with the drill steel.

It is evident that my improved device is specially adapted for use with hammer drills of the stoping type or those adapted for drilling up-holes where the holes are run either in a vertical direction or in a direction inclined to the vertical. In downholes or even in holes driven in a horizontal direction or only slightly inclined from the horizontal, the rock cuttings may be removed by the use of water. However, in the case of up-holes or holes either vertical or considerably inclined, it is impracticable to employ water for obvious reasons, one of which is that the rock cuttings'mixed with water would form a dirty liquid which would descend upon those in charge of the,

machine. Hence it is with this class of holes that my improved dust collector may be most advantageously employed, and in these cases the arrangement is such that the cuttings will move freely by gravity out of the hole, pass into the hood and thence out of the latter through the conduit connected therewith, the cuttings being carried to the desired location.

lVhile it is preferred that the mouth of the hood should be in direct engagement with the breast of the rock, it is not absosince in actual practice the rock cuttings will follow the grooves of the drill steel for sevimpregnate the eral inches before they begin to spread and atmosphere with dust. These cuttings whether the hood is in exact engagement with the breast of the rock or not, will enter the hood and be discharged through the conduit connected therewith as heretofore explained.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing it is assumed that the dust collector supporting column occupies a vertical posit-ion parallel with the drill 59 carrying the drill steel 7 with which the dust collector is connected in operative relation. V

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A dust collector for rock drills, comprising a hood, a clamp to'which the hood is secured, a bushing rotatably 1 mounted in the clamp and adapted to fit the drill steel, and means independent of the drill connected with the clamp for supporting the hood in operative relation with the drill mechanism. a

2. A dust collector comprising a hood,& clamp to which the hood is attached, and a bushin rotatably mounted in the clamp and groove .to fit the drill steel and form a dusttight joint, but allowing the steel to move longitudinally therein, the bushing being. split to open with the clamp and consisting of a yielding member and a metal reinforcing member to which the yielding member is secured.

3. A dust collect-or comprlsing a hood, a

clamp to which the hood is attached, and

a bushing rotatably mounted in the clamp and grooved to fit the drill steel to form a dust-tight joint, the bushing consisting of a yielding member and a metal reinforcing member to which the yielding member is secured, the yielding member being divided and the metal member hinged to open with the hood clamp, substantially as described.

4. The combination of a hood, a clamp to which the hood is secured, and a. yielding bushing member. grooved to fit the drill steel, the a clamp being slotted and the bushing member provided with retaining guides which protrude through the slot of the clamp and allow the bushing member to rotate 1n the clamp and with the drill'steel, j

substantially as described.

5. The combination of a hood, a circular? support to which the hood is secured, a yielding bushing member grooved to fit the drill steel, the circular support being slotted and the bushing member provided with retaining guides which protrude through the slot of the. support to allow the bushing member to rotate with ,the clamp and .with the drill steel, and means independent of the drill mechanism, connected with the circular support for maintaining the hood in operative relation with the drill mechanism, substantially as described.

6i The combination of a hood, a collar to which the hood is secured, the collar being slotted ,a bushing member'groo ed tofit the drill steel. and mounted to rota e in the collar, the bushing having retaining devices pro-- truding-through the slot of the collar, and

hood-supporting means connected with the collar for maintainin the hood in operative relation with the dril mechanism, substantially as described. .7. The combination of a. hood, a collar to which the hood is secured, the-collar bein slotted, a yielding bushingmember groove to fit the drill steel and provided with retaining devices which protrude throu h the shaped hood, a collar to which the smaller extremity of the hood is secured, a bushing rotatably mounted in the collar and ada ted to fit the drill steel to form a dust-tight joint, and hood-supporting means comprising a column and a member extending at right angles to the column, the last named member being composed of two parts, each part having a clutchmember, the two clutch members coiiperating to allow the position v of the hood to-conform to that of the drill steel. r

9. A dust collector comprising a hood, a clamp to which the hood is secured, a bushing member rotatably mounted in the clamp and shaped to fit the drill steel to form a dust-tight joint and rotate with the latter, the said bushing protruding into the smaller extremity of the hood, and means independent of the drill mechanism and connected with the clamp for supporting the hood in operative relatlon with the drill steel.

10. The combination of a funnel-shaped hood composed of flexible material and adapted to open on one side, a dust discharge conduit communicating with the hood, a collar to which the hood is secured, the said collar being shaped interiorly to fit the drill steel, the part directly engaging the steel being composed of yielding material, and means connected with the collar for supportin the hood in operative relation with the drill steel, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES SOLOMON WAHLSTROM.

Witnesses:

GUs'rAr T.,JoHNsoN, EDWARD STENSON. 

